SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - As Charles Dickens states in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."

That famous quote could have accurately described what happened in the contest between the Brooklyn Badgers (N.Y.) and Team Albany (N.Y.). Brooklyn Badgers arrived late to the matchup, which dramatically shifted the contest in favor of Team Albany. Team Albany was awarded 24 points and a second quarter start due to the tardiness of its opponent.

However, what should have worked in favor of Team Albany actually became moot, as the Brooklyn Badgers turned up the heat and earned a 57-52 win.

The Brooklyn Badgers left it all on the floor, ignoring the massive deficit and maintaining a steady grind. The Badgers' largest deficit was 26 points, 28-2, around the 1:48 mark of the second phase, before the squad went on an 16-4 run, which narrowed the margin a bit to 14 points, 32-18, by the third quarter.

Though Team Albany tried to put points on the board to extend its lead, the Badgers matched their execution bucket-for-bucket. The Brooklyn squad made sure to preserve the 14-point deficit, 36-22, instead of allowing the hole to deepen.

These huge waves of scoring in transition and in the halfcourt, all the while getting defensive stops, gave way to the Brooklyn Badgers closing the deficit to only seven points by the 1:14 mark of the third period. This 36-29 margin was a direct result of a very active and aware Devyn Wilson (South Shore High School (N.Y.) '14), who scored on three consecutive field goals, which included a 3-pointer.

Badgers' Shamiek Sheppard (South Shore High School (N.Y.) '13) got in on the action sparked by Wilson by drawing an and-1 and completing the conventional three-point play. The sequence cut the margin even further to four points, 38-34.

By the fourth and final phase, Sheppard, Wilson and teammate Terrence Samuel (South Shore High School (N.Y.) '13) aided their squad in completely overcoming the mountain of a deficit and earning a 46-40 margin over Team Albany.

The Brooklyn squad held as much as a eight-point advantage, twice. The last time was when the score was 54-46 with about a minute remaining in the game.

Team Albany's Marquan Chandler (Albany High School (N.Y.) '13) attempted to regain the lead for his team by knocking down a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left on the clock, but the Brooklyn Badgers controlled the momentum, and could not be forced out of its rhythm.